[-Lone_wolf-]

Ok, I can't stand looking at my school's website... It needs help beyond reason... and I suck at design...

So, as a side project for just myself (hell, I'll give it to the school if they like it!) I want to re do it.... The only problem is that they have a load of links...

Here is the site:

ECHS A Website that Needs a Little Help

What should I do with all those links? Get rid of them or put them into expanding nav bars?

Any recommendations on what a school site should look like are greatly appreciated.

I do need ideas on a good typeface... the motto is education is our business so I was thinking sophisticated because we consider ourselves a college campus...

Thanks for the help.

[Heka1]

Well for one this is not a Bad school website, but here are some keys that can help you for your own design.

1. Keep all of the links as links, the expanding menu is not very good for a school website.
2. Keep the colors that they have.
3. Make the left menu maybe 2/3rds the width that it is, wrap the links if needed.
4. use a un-ordered list for the menu items.

These should be some key pointers for the site, I look forward to seeing some updates.

[Scott]

my old schools website a few years ago:

http://www.mortimercs.s-tyneside.sch. uk/

[herkalees]

The first thing I'd do is change your choice of linked words. You never know if someone at the school will follow their referrer log back to this post...

[steveb]

It's the year 2008. Do people still need instructions like "Please use the buttons above and links to the left to navigate our site"?
Anyway, the things on the left are just links, not buttons.

I also think it's time to stop welcoming people to run-of-the-mill websites. You have three welcomes on the home page alone. Corny as hell. Leave it out!

[wheedwacker]

You need to reorganize things. Create categories of information, instead of having separate things for every single page. It will make it easier for people to find things, and it will make it have less links there.

I wouldn't keep it the same color. I would have the background be white (like in the school's logo/mascot and use the red color as a secondary one.

And please don't use centered body text like they did.

[Aibrean]

I would look at college sites for inspiration. Most are well designed and they have even more information that that.

[-Lone_wolf-]

Thanks for the advice. Any ideas on what font type to use?

[-Lone_wolf-]

Ok, I have started general work on the header. I am not sure whether to do the text thru the middle or at the bottom (see attached photo).

Ideas and suggestions?

EDIT: 1 More Version Attached

[wheedwacker]

I would recommend using their helmet logo:


That's probably very important to the people in charge there.

[-Lone_wolf-]

The odd part is that that logo is hardly ever used in the site. The more common one is the one found on the about us page...

I am not sure which one to use. I prefer the 2nd logo but am unsure where to incorporate it. I will be placing the quick links such as internet authentication to the right because we use them soo often throughout the day.

EDIT: What if I use it as the background image in some way? Not tiled of course, but possibly in a corner?

[wheedwacker]

No, logos should always be used. What sites don't?

[-Lone_wolf-]

Ok, here is my first attempt at incorporating the logo.



EDIT: Fixed spacing issues and grouped content a bit more.



EDIT #2: As for the complete size of the site, is 770px to small? Should I up it to 800, or even more?

[Aibrean]

I would get rid of the weird square and just have the disk in white float and the bottom fade into that red.

[agentxcell]

Yes as far as design goes the big white square really throws off the whole composition to me it takes my eye away from everything else except the big white square.

[-Lone_wolf-]

Originally Posted by Aibrean

I would get rid of the weird square and just have the disk in white float and the bottom fade into that red.

Not sure what you mean. What are you trying to say?

[wheedwacker]

the links in both of your mockups look awful.

[agentxcell]

Instead of having the logo in the white square perhaps just make the actual art white and the square the same as the red color.

[-Lone_wolf-]

Yes, I know the links look poor. They are only their to provide a sense of location. I am thinking they will be white rectangles with maroon text and a small tiger paw as a bullet. Not set in stone on that yet.

As for the logo, I like that idea, I will give it a try.

[joey]

Why the gradient?

It looks like pants.